Tokyo Disney parks see 17% visitor fall

Attendance drops 2.2 million in 6 months

TOKYO — Oriental Land, which operates the Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea parks, has reported a 17% or 2.2 million drop year-on in park attendance for the first half of the fiscal year, April through September, to 10.73 million.

This was the biggest drop for the period since Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983.

The big reason for the plunge is the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which forced closures of Disneyland until April 14 and DisneySea until April 27 while OL conducted inspections and made repairs.

Both parks recovered strongly in the summer season, setting a new record for the July to September period.